


leave the light on

by littledust



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-01
Updated: 2010-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-17 21:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/181494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littledust/pseuds/littledust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veronica Mars, tequila, and a moment with Logan Echolls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	leave the light on

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Ladyfest '10. [[Original comment](http://ineffort.livejournal.com/199061.html?thread=4010133#t4591765).]

The party blows, but Veronica can't say she's surprised. She timed her arrival to the point when the 09ers would be too smashed to care that Veronica Mars was poking around, asking seemingly innocuous questions. Unfortunately, the guy that Veronica came here to question is currently having cliche sex in the laundry room, so she's beaten a strategic retreat to the great outdoors, where she's hoping no one will notice her in the dark.

Of course, her hiding place turns out to be only scant feet away from Logan Echolls in a lawn chair. Fortunately, he seems far more interested in downing as much tequila as humanly possible. More than is possible, in fact. Veronica frowns. No matter how drunk Lilly got at parties or how broken up she and Logan were that week, she always made sure he stopped drinking when he looked like--well, exactly what he looks like now.

She considers just letting him drink until he passes out or dies, but she's already moving forward before she even finishes the thought. Damn her marshmallow center anyway. Logan doesn't deserve anyone taking care of him.

"I'm not really a fan of tequila," Veronica says, prying the bottle out of Logan's hands.

He doesn't seem that surprised to see her there, but his eyebrows arch when she takes a swig from the bottle. "Funny, seems like tequila is a fan of you," he replies.

The gulp of tequila burns all the way down, and Veronica fights her gag reflex. She is Veronica Mars, intrepid girl detective and fearless drinker of hard liquor. Not so much with the last one, though, because Logan is smirking now. "We have a complicated relationship," she deadpans.

"If your relationship with alcohol is complicated, you're--actually, you're doing it exactly right." Logan lurches to his feet, steadying himself on the back of the chair. "I'm gonna take my booze back now."

Veronica's first (ridiculous) instinct is to hide the bottle behind her back. "I don't think so, Logan," she says, her mind racing. Lilly either distracted him with making out or sent Duncan to keep any and all alcohol out of Logan's reach. She has neither of those options, and Logan is a lot bigger than her.

On the other hand, Logan's fine motor skills checked out with his sobriety. All Veronica has to do to dodge him is take a step backwards. She snorts and then hits on the brilliant solution of just pouring the bottle onto the ground, trying to avoid splashing her shoes. Coming home at 4 AM will be hard enough to explain without smelling like tequila.

"Hey! That costs more than your rent!" Logan snaps, but he's so drunk his irritation sounds muffled, far away.

"I'm protesting this material life," Veronica says sweetly. Logan's only response is to tentatively let go of the lawn chair, trying to balance on his own. She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Sarcasm is wasted on the drunk."

He actually starts laughing at that, slow chuckles that are nothing like the mocking way he laughs at his own jokes about her. "You're a piece of work, Veronica Mars," he says, and when he trips over his own feet, he steadies himself on her shoulders even as she reaches out to steady him. One of her hands is pressed against the heart Logan Echolls doesn't have, except it's there under her fingertips, beating fast just to contradict her.

"Says the poor little rich boy," she retorts, but her voice is softened by closeness. His palms over her shoulders are warm, all-encompassing. With sudden tingling lucidity, she realizes that she's about to kiss Logan Echolls, or Logan Echolls is about to kiss her, and the tequila bottle falls from her other hand with a clink.

The moment--and since when does she have moments with _Logan Echolls?_ \--is lost. Veronica shrugs off his hands and then maneuvers him around so that he's facing the house. "The party's thataway. Go get yourself a glass of water and then pass out on a couch."

He shoots her a startled look over his shoulder, like he can't quite believe what he's hearing, but for once, Logan doesn't answer back, just heads back to presumably do what she told him.

Veronica thinks about making sure he doesn't just get another bottle of tequila, but she's heading home anyway.


End file.
